Union Bankshares: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
The bank, based in Morrisville, Vermont, said it had earnings of 53 cents per share.
The bank holding company posted revenue of $21.5 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $13.2 million, which topped Street forecasts.
_____
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump narrows Fed chair candidates to four, excluding Treasury Secretary Bessent
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's whittled down his list of potential Federal Reserve chair candidates to four as he considers a successor to Jerome Powell — a choice that could reset the path of the U.S. economy. Asked on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' for a future replacement to Powell, Trump named Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 'I think Kevin and Kevin, both Kevins, are very good,' Trump said during an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' He said two other people were also under consideration, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not among them. 'I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is," Trump said. He did not name his other two top candidates but used the opportunity to disparage Powell, whom he has dubbed 'too late' in cutting interest rates. The news that Trump plans to make a decision on the Fed chair 'soon' comes as the Republican president has been highly critical of current Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. Trump recently floated having the Fed's board of governors take full control of the U.S. central bank from Powell, whom he has relentlessly pressured to cut short-term interest rates in ways that raise questions about whether the Fed can remain free from White House politicking. Trump has openly mused about whether to remove Powell before his tenure as chair ends, but he's held off on dismissing the Fed chair after a recent Supreme Court ruling suggested he could only do so for cause rather than out of policy disagreements. The president has put pressure on Powell by claiming he mismanaged the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project, but he's also said that he's 'highly unlikely' to fire Powell. One of the Fed's governors, Adriana Kugler, made a surprise announcement last Friday that she would be stepping away from her role. That created an opening for Trump, who called her departure 'a pleasant surprise,' to name a new Fed governor. Trump told CNBC it's 'a possibility' that his pick to replace Kugler could also be his choice to replace Powell. Here's what to know about the two known candidates: Kevin Hassett Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, has been supportive of the president's agenda — from his advocacy for income tax cuts and tariffs to his support of the recent firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Hassett served in the first Trump administration as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. As part of Hassett's farewell announcement in 2019, Trump called him a 'true friend' who did a 'great job.' Hassett became a fellow at the Hoover Institution, which is located at Stanford University. He later returned to the administration to help deal with the pandemic. On CNBC on Monday, Hassett said 'all over the U.S. government, there have been people who have been resisting Trump everywhere they can." Kevin Warsh A former Fed governor who stepped down in 2011, Warsh is currently a fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has been supportive of cutting interest rates, a key goal of Trump's. 'The president's right to be frustrated with Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve,' Warsh said on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' last month. Warsh has been increasingly critical of Powell's Federal Reserve and in July, on CNBC, called for sweeping changes on how the Fed conducts business as well as a new Treasury-Fed accord 'like we did in 1951, after another period where we built up our nation's debt and we were stuck with a central bank that was working at cross purposes with the Treasury.' He said the Fed's 'hesitancy to cut rates, I think, is actually quite a mark against them.' 'The specter of the miss they made on inflation" after the pandemic, he said, "it has stuck with them. So one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.' 'He's very highly thought of,' Trump said in June when asked directly about Warsh.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two Income ETFs Are Goldman's Fastest Sellers
Who knew that derivative income would be such a selling point for ETFs in 2025? Goldman Sachs apparently did — and its two fastest growing exchange-traded funds are evidence of that. In the first half of the year, the Wall Street firm's Nasdaq 100 Premium Income (GPIQ) and S&P 500 Premium Income (GPIX) ETFs have more than doubled in size, with each attracting more than $700 million in sales. The funds are relatively young, at about two years old, and at $1.2 billion each are small compared with the likes of the $70 billion Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD). But demand for the category is vast, and it is likely to grow. Invest in Gold Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA 'This is just really a representation of the search for diversified sources of income from US investors,' said Alyson Shupe, head of the global product strategy group for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, adding that the two ETFs 'have really been able to differentiate themselves within the market to tap into that continued investor interest.' READ ALSO: Rich Investors Eschew Financial Advice, Trade ETFs Frequently and SEC Is Now All In On Crypto. What's Next? Appreciate It It's helped that the Goldman ETFs offer returns in addition to income, even if they provide 'lower highs and higher lows' than the market, said Sirion Skulpone, managing director in quantitative equity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. 'The derivatives income ETFs offer something that traditional fixed income doesn't, which is high potential for capital appreciation,' she said. 'A lot of investors want to maintain equity exposure but are maybe looking for that smoother ride.' Using a 'dynamic options writing strategy,' the ETFs have captured 85% of the market upside while providing monthly distributions of about 8.5% (GPIX) and 10.5% (GPIQ), she said. It follows that demand is increasing as more people approach retirement, she said. Figures from Morningstar Direct show that in the first six months of 2025: Flows into all US derivative income ETFs were over $32 billion. Net assets in the category hit nearly $128 billion. Don't Expect the World: As investors have shown more interest in derivative income, Goldman has increasingly focused on helping them understand how the products work, Skulpone said. 'In a really strong market, we expect them to underperform.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive exclusive news and analysis of the rapidly evolving ETF landscape, built for advisors and capital allocators, subscribe to our free ETF Upside newsletter.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Trump administration dismisses most on a federal board overseeing Puerto Rico's finances
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico's federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory's finances, sparking concern about the future of the island's fragile economy. The five fired are all Democrats. A White House official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the board 'has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long and it's time to restore common sense leadership.' Those fired are board chairman Arthur Gonzalez, along with Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater and Luis Ubiñas. The board's two remaining members — Andrew G. Biggs and John E. Nixon — are Republicans. Sylvette Santiago, a spokesperson for the board, said they are in touch with the White House. The board was created in 2016 under the Obama administration, a year after Puerto Rico's government declared it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load and later filed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. In remarks to the AP, the White House official claimed the board had operated ineffectively and in secret and said it 'shelled out huge sums to law, consulting and lobbying firms.' The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject, also accused the board's staff of receiving 'exorbitant salaries.' Puerto Rico is struggling to restructure more than $9 billion in debt held by the state's Electric Power Authority, with officials holding bitter mediations with creditors demanding full payment. It's the only Puerto Rico government debt pending a restructuring, with the White House official accusing the board of preferring to 'extend the bankruptcy.' In February, the board's executive director, Robert Mujica Jr., said it was 'impossible' for Puerto Rico to pay the $8.5 billion that bondholders are demanding. He instead unveiled a new fiscal plan that proposed a $2.6 billion payment for creditors. The plan does not call for any rate increases for an island that has one of the highest power bills in any U.S. jurisdiction as chronic power outages persist, given the grid's weak infrastructure. Alvin Velázquez, a bankruptcy law professor at Indiana University, said he worries the dismissal of the board members could spark another crisis in Puerto Rico. 'This is really about getting a deal out of (the power company) that is not sustainable for the rate payers of Puerto Rico,' he said. Velázquez, former chair for the unsecured creditors committee during the bankruptcy proceedings, also questioned if the dismissals are legal, since board members can only be removed for just cause. 'What's the cause?' he said. 'What you're going to see is another instance in which the Trump administration is taking on and testing the courts.'
